Screening for exercise-induced bronchoconstriction in college athletes.

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Pulmonary Medicine
• Athletic Training

Background:

• Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) is more prevalent in athletes than the general population.
• Athletes often fail to recognize or report EIB symptoms, leading to debate on screening necessity.
• High-risk sports may warrant specific screening protocols for EIB.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence of EIB in collegiate athletes.
• To determine if self-reported symptoms predict EIB in athletes.
• To assess the utility of exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) in predicting EIB.

Main Methods:

• Prospective study of 144 NCAA Division I athletes across six sports.
• Collected baseline demographics and medical history, documenting exercise-induced asthma symptoms.
• Performed eucapnic voluntary hyperventilation (EVH) tests and measured exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) levels.

Main Results:

• Only 2.7% of athletes tested positive for EIB via EVH.
• Symptom presence was not predictive, with only 3% of symptomatic athletes testing positive.
• eNO levels did not effectively differentiate EIB-positive from EIB-negative athletes.

Conclusions:

• Routine screening for EIB in athletes is not recommended based on these findings.
• Self-reported symptoms are unreliable indicators for identifying EIB in athletes.
• eNO measurement is not a useful tool for predicting EIB in this athletic population.